FO: Mrs. Tumnus Shawl

This shawl took over my knitting life – I finished it in just 2 weeks.

Mrs. Tumnus Shawl in Schaefer Anne

4.0 mm ChiaoGoo needles for the body, cast on with a 5.0 mm.

All those twisted stitches and ptbls begged for a sharp needle.  I started out with an Addi Turbo but switched to ChiaoGoos and things zoomed along.

I have lots of detailed notes on my project page on Ravelry.  My biggest piece of advice is to take a deep breath and just get through the CO row and the next couple.  The pattern gets set up and it becomes easier to knit.  Remember – 2 weeks?

The blocking instructions are awesome and made it so easy to get that horseshoe shape.  I’ve never blocked using a running stitch to create the shape but it really worked.  The blocking pic is up above.

I do have one (largish) regret though – my yarn choice.  The colors are much more variegated than I realized and it detracts from the lace.  I rarely knit the same project twice but if I were to I would make sure to use a solid or nearly solid.  Oh well – live and learn.

The other thing I learned with this project has to do with my new mannequin – Mimi.  Isn’t she pretty?  I used her for the first time and it’s hard to see the shawl detail – the wire outlines show through.  I may wrap her like a sari or stuff her with something black for pics in the future.  And yes – her neck is crocked.  I didn’t notice that in the pics on eBay.  Oh well – live and learn.

One final – good thing – that I learned.  I LOVE knitting and wearing crescent-shaped shawls.  So much so that I’ve already started my next – out of some more stash yarn.  Cast on Mania might need to go for the whole month.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.